I'm back with another story! Like most of mine, this takes place after the book.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or anything related to the story created by S.E. Hinton.

(Steve's POV)

I ran through the emergency room doors and immediately searched for familiar faces. It took me all of two seconds to find Two-Bit arguing with a man in a white coat near the desk, so I strode over towards him. He was the one that called me, so I figured he had some answers.

My heart had been pounding since I answered the phone and heard Two-Bit's frantic voice. "Steve, you gotta come to the hospital. There's been an accident." If Two-Bit was the one calling me about an accident, I knew it involved the Curtis brothers, otherwise one of them probably would've called me, except maybe Ponyboy… I'd never be first on his list of people to call.

I don't even think I replied to my buddy, I just hung up and drove straight to the hospital. The entire time, the worst case scenarios kept popping up into my head and I struggled to kept my focus on driving.

"What do you mean you don't have any updates?" Two-Bit asked the man in a serious tone I never heard him use. "Two of my buddies are hurt, their kid brother's shakin' like a leaf, and you don't got nothin' to tell me?"

Darry and Soda are hurt. My best friend in the whole world and his older brother are in the hospital, but where's Ponyboy?

"What's goin' on?" I asked the moment I was next to Two-Bit. Two-Bit kept his fiery eyes on the doctor, so I followed his gaze to the man in the white coat.

"I'm sorry boys, we don't know much yet. They're both in critical condition. Just prepare yourselves for anything. That's all I can tell you at this point." He was talking to us like it was a normal everyday thing, and for him it might've been, but not for us. For us, he was saying our friends, members of our family, might die, and we were supposed to prepare for that. How the hell are you supposed to prepare for that? "For now, I encourage you boys to be there for your other friend. He's in shock and needs all the help and support you can give him."

I turned away from the doctor and searched the rest of the room for Ponyboy, not knowing where he'd be. I spotted him in a chair just a few feet away from us. I cursed myself under my breath for not noticing him earlier.

Ponyboy looked rough, and that's putting it lightly.

He was sitting in a chair, staring at his shaking hands that were clasped in front of him. He was crying, but he was real quiet about it– he wasn't sniffling or sobbing or anything, his red-rimmed eyes were just watering and the tears fell down his cheeks. His skin was marked up with still-forming bruises and several cuts that were still actively bleeding. He was covered in either dirt or grease, maybe both. His hair was a mess, and when I really focused, I could see there was some blood in it.

"How is he, Two-Bit?" I asked without taking my eyes off the kid. "Has he said anything?"

"No. He hasn't said anything since he called me." Then, after a short pause, he continued. "Well, he does keep sayin' everyone should worry about his brothers instead of him," my friend said.

I heard the doctor's voice again, but this time, he wasn't speaking so matter-of-factly. This time, he sounded genuinely caring and worried. "He's in shock. He won't let any of the medical staff touch him to treat him… he told us to focus on his brothers and leave him alone. While we work on treating his brothers, I think he could use all the support you could give him. And if you can, convince him to get checked out by a doctor or nurse."

His brothers couldn't be there to comfort him, but Two-Bit and I could, and I'd be damned if I let Soda's kid brother go through this on his own. Even though we were both worried about our buddies, we couldn't afford to freak out, not with Ponyboy looking and acting the way he was.

Ponyboy was only fourteen. He already lost both of his parents and two buddies within the same year. He was just a kid, alone, worrying about his brothers. His imaginative mind was probably thinking of the worst case scenarios like I did.

Without looking back at either the doctor or Two-Bit, I walked up to the kid. The closer I got, the worse he looked. When I approached him, I spoke quietly to try not to startle him. "Hey kid, what's goin' on?" He completely ignored me and kept looking at his hands. "Ponyboy?"

When he continued to look at his hands, I knew I wasn't getting through to him. I knelt in front of him and grabbed his hands. Ponyboy yanked his hands away and still didn't meet my eyes. "I'm fine. Just take care of my brothers."

He thinks I'm a doctor. He doesn't even know I'm here.

"I ain't a doctor, Ponyboy. I can't do much to help them." It hurt to say out loud, but it was the awful truth. As much as I wanted to be able to help my friends, the only thing I could do was be there for their little brother.

I looked up at him, and Ponyboy was looking away from me and staring down at the floor. With his head turned, I could see the gash that was trickling blood down his skin and into his hair. He was looking worse by the minute, and not just because he was concerned about Darry and Soda; he was getting paler as the seconds ticked by. Even though I rarely admitted it, Ponyboy was my friend too, and I needed to figure out how to get through to him so he could get some help.

I grabbed his chin so his head stayed still as I took a good look at it. Ponyboy flinched and brought a fist up as he glared at me with a wild look in his eyes that I've never seen before. I refused to back down. "If you hit me, I'm gonna hit you back," I warned. "And don't think for a second I won't. I don't care that you're Soda's kid brother… I'm not just gonna let you take a swing at me." I was mostly joking.

He blinked a couple times, looking confused. Then he lowered his fist. "Steve?" I sighed in relief. "When did you get here?"

"Few minutes ago," I said as I moved to the chair next to him. "I've been trying to get you to talk to me, or hell, even just look at me."

"Yeah, who knew it took Steve threatening to hit ya to get you to snap out of it," Two-Bit quipped as he sat on the other side of Ponyboy. Then he slung an arm across the kid's shoulders. "You didn't even talk to me, and I know you like me more than Steve."

Ponyboy didn't even grin at Two-Bit's remark. Instead, he returned his gaze to the incredibly boring floor.

"Hey kid, you need to let someone take a look at you. You're bleeding," I said as nicely as I could, although I was sure it still came out too harsh.

He shrugged. "I'm fine. They all need to be back there for my brothers," he said as he jerked his head in the direction of a set of double doors at the side of the room. He muttered the next words he said, so I barely heard him. "They need all the help they can get."

I knew Two-Bit heard him too because we shared a worried look. It sounded like Darry and Soda were about as bad off as you could get.

Well, not quite… but I wasn't going to let myself think like that, not when I had to keep an eye on the kid.

Two-Bit tightened his arm around Ponyboy, pulling the kid closer to him. "They'll be alright, Ponyboy. They're tough. Darry will be irritated about staying in bed, and Soda will be crackin' jokes before you know it." There was a short silence, but not being one who can handle anything quiet, Two-Bit spoke up again. "Until then, you're stuck with us: your older and wiser buddies."

"Be careful about calling yourself wise, Two-Bit," Ponyboy said with a smirk. I barked out a laugh as Two-Bit rubbed his knuckles on Ponyboy's head.

After a few seconds, Ponyboy winced and gritted his teeth, obviously in pain, so I knocked Two-Bit's hand away. He must've noticed the look on both the kid's face and mine because he stopped without any hesitation or other retaliation. Then when he glanced at his hand, a horrified look crossed his face. His knuckles were red with Ponyboy's blood.

"Alright kid, you need to get checked out," I ordered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"But-"

"No. Look, you're bleedin' from your head," I said. When Two-Bit showed Ponyboy his knuckles, Ponyboy's eyes widened a bit. Then I cautiously added, "What will your brothers say when they get all patched up and find out you didn't at least get looked at?" I made sure to make it sound like they would, in fact, recover. Ponyboy didn't have an answer, so I offered him mine. "After they get done pummeling me and Two-Bit for not makin' you see a doctor, they'll be sure to get you checked out. So it's either now or later kid, and I'd prefer to skip the beatdown if you don't mind."

Ponyboy grinned, and after some hesitation, he nodded his head. "Yeah, alright."

The doctor from before was apparently keeping an eye on Ponyboy, because he immediately appeared in front of us. For a moment he was towering over us, which automatically made me feel defensive, but then he squatted down in front of Ponyboy and spoke softly, which made me feel a little bit better. "Hi Ponyboy, I'm Dr. Downing. I'd like to take a look at you if you don't mind." Ponyboy looked hesitant, like he was going to change his mind, but then Dr. Downing spoke again. "We can stay right here with your friends if you prefer. You don't have to go back there unless I find something concerning, okay?"

At the doctor's suggestion, Ponyboy nodded and Two-Bit and I stood up to get out of the way. Dr. Downing called a nurse over to clean and bandage Ponyboy's minor wounds, and as she did, the doctor was writing some things down on a piece of paper. Once he was cleaned up a bit, the doctor started poking and prodding Ponyboy, and he even made the kid move his arms, legs, and head around under his careful supervision. The kid was obviously hurt because he kept squeezing his eyes shut and wincing, but he didn't make a noise.

Once he was done with his examination, the doctor straightened and took a step back so he could look address all of us while he kept looking at Ponyboy. "Well Mr. Curtis, it looks like you left the accident with considerably less injuries than your brothers." I flinched at that. Does he have to say it like that? "You have some bruised ribs, but those aren't my main concern, they'll heal on their own. I want you to get a couple x-rays for your arms… you may have some broken bones. You also have a few minor cuts that'll heal within a couple weeks, but you'll need to get some staples in your head to close that big one," he said, pointing to the gash that was still bleeding. "I believe you have a concussion as well, which we need to keep an eye on."

I watched Ponyboy as he took in all of the information. He was obviously overwhelmed, and then he started shaking his head. "No, I don't want to… I can't… I'm fine."

"He's not sayin' that you need to be in a hospital room, Pony…" Two-Bit assured Ponyboy. He sat down next to the kid and put a hand on Ponyboy's shoulder. Then he looked at the doctor. "You're just sayin' he needs a few pictures taken and his cut closed up, then he can come back in here to wait for his brothers. Right doc?"

I wasn't sure that's what the doctor exactly had in mind, but he seemed to understand that was the only way Ponyboy would comply. Dr. Downing nodded at looked at Ponyboy. "Yes, of course. You can come back here as soon as you're all patched up." Then he glanced at Two-Bit. "You can go back there with him if you'd like."

Two-Bit nodded instantly, but then he looked at me, confliction written all over his face. We've known each other so long, that I knew what he was worried about, so I was quick to reassure him. "Go with the kid. I'll stay here and try to get some news on Darry and Soda."

"Thanks Steve," Two-Bit said, about as calm and normal as I've ever heard him. Then he stood up and reached his hand out to Ponyboy. "Alright kiddo, let's go."

Ponyboy took a breath and accepted Two-Bit's help. Once he was on his feet, Ponyboy let the doctor and Two-Bit lead him through the double doors.

I sat down and dropped my head into my hands.